Bahrain names squad for Asian volleyball tournaments

TDT | Manama                                                       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain have named a 20-player squad for the senior men’s national volleyball team that will begin their preparations for major continental championships coming up this summer.

The Bahrain Volleyball Association (BVA) announced yesterday the list of names for the team. The Kingdom’s talents who have been called up include six from Isa bin Rashid Bahrain Volleyball League and Crown Prince’s Cup champions Dar Kulaib, five from Al Nasser, four from Al Ahli, two apiece from Al Najma and Muharraq, and one from Nabih Saleh.

The nationals will be preparing for their upcoming participation in the fourth AVC Men Challenger from July 8 to 15 in Taipei, Chinese-Taipei and the 22nd Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship from August 18 to 26 in Tehran.

Both are top Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) events featuring the leading national teams from across Asia. The Bahrainis are to be guided by head coach Sydney Luciano over the coming period. It is Luciano’s first stint with the Kingdom’s senior national team, although has had experience in Bahrain in the past at the club level.

Luciano has replaced his countryman Issanaye Ramires, who last year helped Bahrain capture an historic bronze medal in the 2022 AVC Cup for Men, which was held in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand.

The nationals are set to include Mohammed Yaqoob, Ali Habib, Mahmoud Abdulwahed, Hassan Alaiwi, Hussain Sultan and Abbas Sultan from Dar Kulaib; Hussain Mohammed, Ebrahim Mohammed, Hussain Mahdi Al Jishi, Mohammed Omar and Mohammed Jassim from Al Nasser; Nasser Anan, Mahmood Abdulhussain, Mohammed Anan and Abbas Al Khabbaz from Al Ahli; Ali Ebrahim and Ayman Haroona from Al Najma; Mahmood Al Afia and Hussain Ali Ehsan from Muharraq; and Sayed Hashim from Nabih Saleh.

In the 2023 AVC Men Challenger in Taipei, the Bahrainis are among a record 17 teams that will vie for the lone berth up for grabs in the FIVB Men’s Challenger Cup—a pathway to the FIVB Men’s Volleyball Nations League.

The nationals will be playing in Pool F for the tournament’s preliminary round alongside Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Pool A features two teams in hosts Chinese Taipei and Kazakhstan; Pool B comprises Saudi Arabia, Thailand and South Korea; while Uzbekistan, India and Hong Kong are in Pool C. Pool D consists of Mongolia, the Philippines and Macau, with Australia, Pakistan and Vietnam in Pool E.

Meanwhile, in the 22nd Asian Senior Men’s Volleyball Championship in Tehran, Bahrain are amongst a field of 18 competing nations. They have been drawn in Pool D with Chinese Taipei and Mongolia for the event’s opening stage.

Two-time champions Iran are in Pool A with Hong Kong and Iraq; while Japan, Uzbekistan and Thailand are in Pool B. Pool C consists of China, Kazakhstan and Indonesia; while Qatar, India and Afghanistan are in Pool E. Pool F rounds out the teams with Pakistan, South Korea and Bangladesh.